Panthers rule Sam Reinhart out for Game 3. His replacement, Jesper Boqvist, gets a big goal instead

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sam Reinhart was a spectator. His replacement sparked a blowout.

With Reinhart out of the lineup for the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against Carolina on Saturday night because of a left knee injury, Jesper Boqvist — who took Reinhart's place — scored to start a five-goal outburst in the third period. The Panthers won 6-2, moving one win away from a third consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

“You have to stay ready,” Boqvist said.

He was ready. It was 1-1 in the third when he scored, sparking a five-goal, nine-minute barrage from the Panthers.

Boqvist finished with the goal, two assists and was plus-four.

“Bokey has been so good every time he's been in the lineup,” Panthers forward Brad Marchand said. “Huge play by him. ... It gave us the confidence to be able to continue to build.”

Reinhart was out because of the injury that happened Thursday night when he was skated into by the Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho. The Panthers are listing him as day to day.

It's a significant blow to the Panthers, who now lead the Eastern Conference finals 3-0. Reinhart scored the winning goal in Game 7 of last season's Stanley Cup Final for the Panthers, the capper of a 67-goal season including playoffs, and has more goals — by far — than anyone else on the Florida roster since joining the club four years ago.

“It’s a significant player out of our lineup, for sure," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "We have gone through other significant ones ... you have to be able to survive. You have to have one guy go down and still have a chance — or you don’t have the depth that you think you have.”

Reinhart's 43 goals this season, including playoffs, leads the team. He has 185 goals, again including playoffs, since joining the team — 36 more than Carter Verhaeghe, 61 more than Aleksander Barkov, 74 more than Sam Bennett and 76 more than Matthew Tkachuk.

Reinhart was carrying the puck into the Florida zone with about 5 minutes left in the first period of Thursday's game when Aho came at him from the side, making contact with the left knee.

Reinhart tumbled to the ice, clearly had trouble skating to the Florida bench while favoring the knee and was grimacing in obvious pain. He went to the Panthers' locker room for further evaluation and the determination was quickly made that he could not return.

Boqvist was the pick to take Reinhart's spot — the latest example of Florida needing to use its depth, which the Panthers have touted many times of late as one of the team's strengths.

“But that doesn't win you games unless you play the right way and use it to your advantage,” Marchand said.

Reinhart has 80 power-play goals since joining the Panthers, more than any two other Florida players combined in that span. He has 30 game-winning goals, 29 multi-goal games and 10 shorthanded goals during his Florida career — leading the franchise in all those categories over the last four years.

And without him, Florida scored six goals in Game 3 anyway — with Boqvist being a big reason why.

“All these guys play really important roles for us," Maurice said. "It’s good for them, for the guys watching the game, to see how important it is that you stay ready.”

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Florida Panthers center Jesper Boqvist, left, reacts after scoring a goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period in Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Florida Panthers center Jesper Boqvist (70) celebrates with Aleksander Barkov (16), Aaron Ekblad (5) and Gustav Forsling (42) after scoring a goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period in Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Eastern Conference finals Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart (13) tries to score against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the first period of Game 4 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series, Sunday, May 11, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)

Florida Panthers centre Sam Reinhart (13) celebrates his goal with teammates Aaron Ekblad (5) and Gustav Forsling (42) during the third period of Game 7 of a second-round NHL hockey playoff series in Toronto, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado has been suspended two games and Phoenix Suns center Mark Williams has been suspended one game for their roles in a fight during the third quarter of Saturday night's game.

The NBA announced the suspensions, that come without pay, on Sunday.

Alvarado will miss the Pelicans' home game against the New York Knicks on Monday and their game at the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. Williams will miss Monday night's game at the Washington Wizards.

The 7-foot-1 Williams and 6-foot Alvarado exchanged punches following a foul call on Alvarado. Phoenix won 123-114 for a two-game sweep of a back-to-back set between the teams in New Orleans.

Alvarado was trying to fight through a ball screen set by Williams to keep pressure on Suns sharpshooter Collin Gillespie, who had made his first five 3-point attempts of the game.

Alvarado pushed Williams out of the way while playing defense and was called for a foul. Williams then shoved Alvarado in the back. Alvarado turned toward Williams and the two exchanged words before grabbing each other and throwing punches. Both players landed right hands before being separated and then ejected.

Neither player commented after the game.

Phoenix coach Jordan Ott attributed the fight to competitiveness and fatigue.

“I saw it start, and then all of a sudden everyone jumped in,” Ott said. “Obviously, it happens. It just feels like the lack of sleep the second night of a back-to-back, something always tends to happen. Last night, there were a lot of free throws; tonight there wasn’t as much. They let us play tonight, which is something we enjoy. They got tangled up, and obviously they both got thrown out.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado, left, and Phoenix Suns center Mark Williams (15) get into a scrum during the third quarter before both were ejected during an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado, center left, and Phoenix Suns center Mark Williams, center right, get into a scrum during the third quarter before both were ejected during an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado, left, and Phoenix Suns center Mark Williams (15) get into a scrum during the third quarter before both were ejected during an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado (15) and Phoenix Suns center Mark Williams get into a scrum during the third quarter before both were ejected during an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)